Gumi City Proves Itself as a Top-Ranked Traffic Safety City in Korea

Awarded Grade A Among Local Governments with Over 300,000 Residents
Balanced Performance Across All Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Indicators
Fatalities Down 31 Percent
Enhancing Safety with the Introduction of AI-Based Traffic Systems

Gumi City in North Gyeongsang Province received the highest grade, Grade A, in the "2025 Local Government Traffic Culture Index Assessment," which was jointly organized by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority. Among the 29 local governments with populations over 300,000, Gumi ranked third, earning recognition as one of the country's top cities for traffic safety.

The Traffic Culture Index is a comprehensive indicator that measures each local government's awareness of traffic safety and the overall level of traffic culture. It evaluates three main categories-driving behavior, pedestrian behavior, and traffic safety-across 18 detailed indicators, with a maximum possible score of 100 points.

Gumi City recorded a total score of 88.39 points, with 48.68 points in driving behavior, 17.66 points in pedestrian behavior, and 22.05 points in traffic safety, demonstrating balanced achievements across all areas. In particular, the city received high marks for pedestrian behavior indicators such as compliance with crosswalk signals, as well as for its administrative efforts in traffic safety.

Clockwise) Safe School Commute Environment Campaign - Fixie Campaign - Traffic Safety Facilities - Senior Traffic Safety Education in Gumi City / Photo by Lee Ihwan

This evaluation has translated into tangible improvements in traffic safety. The number of traffic accident fatalities in Gumi dropped from 26 in 2024 to 18 in 2025, a decrease of approximately 31%. This is attributed to a combination of citizen-participatory traffic safety education and campaigns, as well as the expansion of traffic safety infrastructure focused on residential areas.

Building on these results, Gumi City plans to further advance its traffic safety policies. This year, the city will implement an AI-based real-time traffic signal control system and an automatic traffic accident detection system to encourage voluntary signal compliance by drivers and strengthen secondary accident prevention measures. The city also intends to expand customized traffic safety education for users of personal mobility devices and seniors, and accelerate the installation and improvement of traffic safety facilities in school zones for children.

Jangho Kim, Mayor of Gumi, stated, "Achieving this Grade A result is the outcome of mature civic awareness combined with consistent implementation of traffic safety policies," adding, "We hope that, moving forward, our policies for preventing traffic accidents and ensuring pedestrian safety will continue to operate seamlessly in the field."